El Cantaro
| Address: | 791 Foam St, Monterey, CA 93940, USA |
| Phone: | +1 831-646-5465 |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 9AM–3:30PM Closed 11AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
R
R star M31
I have been here two times in the past year, and both times we had terrible service probably because we ended up during their peak hours so they obviously dont have a good system to handle their high volume times. I am not much to give bad reviews but I personally feel these people run ungrateful for their business. The last time I was here the experience got worse. Right when I was finally able to put in my order, the cashier disappeared without apology, gave a tip still because I understand how it works in a restaurant, ordered to go because it was crowded, then we found an open table, sat down, waited 1 hr for our food, people behind us got their food already, then as we are eating, the people repeatedly bothered us trying to embarrass us in front of people that we shouldnt stay and eat if we ordered to go. I understand your concern, but I have come from the industry working in much bigger and busier places than this restaurant, I was never taught to be rude to customers like that because it doesnt matter whether they stay or not. The food was okay both times and I was disappointed the first time anyway similar situation without being harrassed for staying though, so we definitely are not going back. I just would hope the owners provide a more grateful atmosphere among themselves. They do not smile, say thank you, or apologize to their customers. For a vegan restaurant, this should be your automated principal in life, hence, veganisms standard principal.
SU
Sue Hammerland
I highly recommend this restaurant, it was a friendly, clean place with excellent food options for Vegans who are looking for fresh ingredients and interesting flavors. My non-vegan parents did not realize that their "chickn" tacos were not real chicken until I told them, and both of them thought that the tapioca-based meat substitute was delicious and ingenious, as were their "mushroom tacos." The portion size was not your typical pile-o-food, ode to obesity that many Mexican restaurants serve. It was nice to have lets-not-stuff-ourselves-quantity with great quality. It was satisfying and healthy. l also had a really wonderful drink that combined pineapple juice, cucumber juice and water in a ratio that made a flavor that I will attempt to make at home, but El Cantaro has perfected it. And now for the chocolate cake. O.M.G. it was fantastic! How did they get it to rise up and be like spongy, real cake? And it was a HUGE piece with icing, floating in a caramel-flavored pool of sauce that was a bonus desert in itself. You vegans out there have no doubt had some hideous vegan cake experiences. I have. But this cake (we all sampled) was beyond vegan and non-vegan expectations, and we all sampled and relished the rice pudding too. Hurray for El Cantaro! Too bad I live in Maine. I would be a regular at this place! And its right up the street from another favorite spot, the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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Alex Ruff
This is the best Mexican food I have ever had from a restaurant. The quality and freshness of the food is better than all non-vegan Mexican restaurants which I have ever eaten at. I was amazed at the quality of the freshly made tortilla chips and I ordered guacamole to go along with the chips and salsa which was also the best I have ever been served from a restaurant. The menu has a lot of items and a very large variety of dishes. So far I have tried the chili rellaino plate, enchilada plate, tacos, and burritos. They are all amazing. There are so many more dishes to try that I will be ordering and trying something different for at least the next 20 or 30 times that I go to El Cantro. You order at the counter and then the food is delivered to you when it is ready, so you do not have to wait for a server to seat you and take your order. You can see the entire kitchen from the counter which is also a plus in my opinion because it means they are not hiding the kitchen from their customers. The staff has been amazingly friendly every time that I have went. The only thing I would change is to move the restaurant closer to my house so I could get there quicker and eat at El Cantro more often.
CY
Cynde Balent
Poor service, slow, came to table multiple times asking questions about the order we gave. Food was ok to middling but they got the orders wrong, took a long time to clean table for us, did not bring water and drinks until we asked twice (after giving us a dirty look.) Rudely said, "gimne a second" when we asked for drink second time. The tacos were overly greasy and the tortilla soup seemed more like an odd curry. The water was the worst i have tasted in a restaurant. Worst thing though was that I had asked not to have sour cream, when I told the waiter that the tacos had sour cream she said, "no they dont." I said, "then what is this (pointed to lots of white creamy stuff.)" She said (I kid you not) "oh well thats just a mistake." She then begins to walk away, I jut the plate toward her and she says, incredulously, "do you want new ones?" Is there a new owner, its hard for me to believe the positive reviews.
SU
Surabhi Vijay
No frills. Great food. A hard combination, given the vegan Mexican segment it goes after. Boy oh boy, weve never seen sooo many veg Mexican options. And hence, as non Spanish people, we didnt get what most of them meant. The hostess was quite professional and concise, yet helpful in telling us about the items and even suggested scaling down on the order based on the portion sizes, a rather surprising move since most businesses are pushy in sales. If not, they atleast dont say no to an incoming order, even if they know its not the best thing for the customer. Extra kudos to the hostess on that! The food itself was great. Many of the diners seem like regulars and the atmosphere is casual, yet warm. Theres this family like warmth vibe. Loved this place!! P. S. : if you wonder why no 5 stars when I have nothing to complain about, my gold standard for a 5starrer is a place that leaves me "phuuu.." (Mind blown)
ME
metal sam
Im kind of in love with this place after one stop. This place is an all-vegan Mexican spot with plant based versions of classic dishes, meatless tacos, burritos, and more. I had the Combo 2 (two tacos, spinach enchilada, rice, pintos), my dining partner had a salad, and we split the emapanaditas appetizer. the empas were fried up crisp and loaded with mushrooms and onion, topped with fresh guacamole, a black bean puree, and vegan sour cream, the Tacos were what you would expect from a good street vendor (but no meat) and really filled a void, as the rest of the meal did, in my life since going plant-only and living in the Midwest. The freedom to order anything on the menu is a treat, and kind of a challenge. I will be back again a time or two during this trip! Thank you.
EM
emmanuel guido
Being the only full vegan resteraunt(that I know of) in the Monterey County so theres not much competition. Regardless, I think the resteraunt us great. They have so many options that it can be hard to choose. All the food Ive tried from their has been delicious. Their dessert options are great and they all taste exactly like I remember the non-vegan version tasting. If your expecting the food to taste exactly like the authentic Mexican food its based off you will likely be disappointed. But if you go in with an open mind and not judge it off of what you think it should taste like I think you will thoroughly enjoy it. The only down side in my opinion is that its a bit pricey but thats how most vegan food is.
